Lights (61)

A few years ago I wrote about the Christmas lights in the neighborhood—how I tend to grouse when they're put up unacceptably (by my standards) early, like: right after Thanksgiving. Or even—horrors!—before. But that year—it was 2016, after the presidential election—I reckoned we could use all the light we could get. Even if it was "too early."

In my book, Christmas lights should go up mid-December-ish; and they should stay up until Epiphany, which is when Christmas ends. I'm not religious, but honestly: it's an actual event we're celebrating with this holiday, and the twelve days extend from December 25 to January 6. Though yeah, yeah, those are the customary dates, not the true-to-life ones, which may have been more like June, or maybe October. Nobody really knows.

I bring this up now, because tomorrow is Epiphany. And we still have our lights up. As I walked home this dark evening from a city council meeting, though, I noticed that we are the only house in the entire neighborhood that still has their cheery lights on. Wow.

Four days ago on NextDoor (how do I hate thee, let me count the ways), someone actually complained: "Neighborly Reminder: The Lights REALLY have to come off the house TODAY (if Not Possible, at least unplug them) or you go on the list of: 'Those People'"—together with a few laughy faces. I could not believe my eyes! Fortunately, a lot of people rushed in to say that their lights come down on January 7, after Epiphany. At least some folks have an idea of history, custom, and tradition. 

I don't usually comment on ND (have I mentioned that I hate it?), but I couldn't help myself: "This complaint makes me want to just leave them up. But we will take them down on the 7th, How can anybody really object to colored lights??? I've been disappointed this season that there were so few lights in our neighborhood." Some random person responded, saying among other things that she likes white lights but not colored ones (she later edited the comment, maybe after I said back: "complaining about lights, or even the color of them? That seems like such a waste of energy, and awfully unneighborly"). 

All this really brought out the Grinch in me.

So I guess it's a good thing we will be taking our lights down on Saturday. At least then I won't have to worry any longer about being one of "Those People." Sheesh.

Speaking of the Grinch, this season I really missed the Christmas decorations the next block over, but the people who put them up have moved, and now: no lights, no nothing, at that house. I'm glad I took this picture last year. Their display always gave me a smile.